Wild Extend Pending RFA Matt Boldy to Seven-Year, $49-million Contract
The Minnesota Wild are starting the week on a very positive note, inking one of their core pieces to a long-term contract extension.
Matt Boldy, an impending restricted free agent, signed a lucrative seven-year deal worth $49 million Monday morning, the team announced via social media. His deal will begin in 2023-24, running through 2029-30, carrying a $7 million cap hit per season.
ESPN’s Kevin Weekes first reported that both sides were nearing a new contract late Sunday night.
By extending Boldy, Minnesota’s front office has bought out five RFA years – four with arbitration eligibility – and two UFA seasons. As a result, the 21-year-old can enter unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career following his age-28 campaign.
Boldly, in the final season of his three-year, entry-level contract, released a brief video clip on the team’s Twitter page shortly after his deal became official, expressing his excitement about the announcement.
“Hey Wild fans, Matt Boldy here. [I’m] super excited to be sticking around the state of hockey for seven more years. [I] couldn’t be happier and can’t wait to get started.”
The length of Boldy’s contract is surprising for some in the hockey community, as the 6-foot-2 forward is in the midst of his second NHL season and owns just 27 goals and 68 points across 89 career games. A relatively small sample size for a player to be rewarded with a seven-year extension.
Minnesota, however, has witnessed Boldy’s potential firsthand and believes he has already established himself as an impact performer at this level. And the organization is also confident that he has yet to reach his ceiling thus far.
The Wild aren’t alone in that opinion, as The Athletic already values the young forward – who features an $880,833 cap hit this season – as a $7-million skater on the open market. That figure could rise even further if he remains on his current trajectory.
Boldy’s new contract won’t impact Minnesota’s cap space in 2022-23, though it does create an interesting dilemma for future seasons. Next season, in particular, the team could face a major financial crunch with a projected $9.33 million in cap space, according to CapFriendly.
With Zach Parise and Ryan Suter’s buyouts – combining for roughly $14.74 million in 2023-24 – on the books, the Wild will face plenty of tough decisions this summer, especially with Matt Dumba as a pending unrestricted free agent.
The franchise also has five impending restricted free agents on its current roster, four of which will be arbitration-eligible. Sam Steel, who already owns a career-high eight goals and has tied his career mark in points (22) over 42 games, is likely to headline that group of RFAs.
The 2023 off-season will be pivotal for Minnesota, although general manager Bill Guerin deserves credit for checking off a significant piece of business months before the regular season finishes. But with multiple key skaters unsigned beyond 2022-23, making the most of this season will be vital.
While the Wild endured a horrific start to the campaign, they’ve bounced back since then, positioning themselves third in the Central Division at 24-14-4 with 52 points.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: D’Arcy Norman. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.